Short Questions
1. Can a simple jab of the knife kill a tree?
Answer: No, a simple jab of the knife cannot kill a tree because it has grown slowly, consuming the earth for years.
2.What makes the bark of a tree bleed?
Answer: Cutting or chopping the tree makes its bark bleed.
3.What happens when a tree is hacked and chopped?
Answer: The bleeding bark heals, and new green twigs and miniature boughs grow again.
4.What does the poet mean by “anchoring earth”?
Answer: It means the earth that holds the tree securely with the help of its roots.
5.What finally kills the tree?
Answer: The tree finally dies when its roots are completely pulled out from the earth and left to dry in the sun and air.
Long Questions
1. Why does it take much time to kill a tree?
Answer: It takes much time to kill a tree because it grows slowly by absorbing sunlight, air, and water for years. A single cut or jab cannot destroy it completely.
2. How does the poet describe the growth of a tree?
Answer: The poet says the tree grows slowly, consuming the earth, feeding upon its crust, and absorbing sunlight, air, and water. It sprouts leaves from its rough bark.
3.Why does hacking and chopping not kill a tree completely?
Answer: Hacking and chopping cannot kill a tree because the bleeding bark heals, and new shoots and branches rise again from the ground, making the tree grow back to its former size.
4.What must be done to kill a tree completely?
Answer: To kill a tree completely, its roots must be pulled out of the earth, tied with ropes, and snapped out from the anchoring ground. Only then can it die.
5.What does the poet describe as the most sensitive part of the tree?
Answer: The poet describes the root as the most sensitive part of the tree – white, wet, and hidden inside the earth for years.
6.What happens after the roots are pulled out of the earth?
Answer: When the roots are pulled out, they are exposed to the sun and air. They become dry, brown, hard, twisted, and withered – and then the tree finally dies.
7.What is meant by “earth cave” in the poem?”
Answer: Earth cave” means the hollow place in the earth where the roots of the tree lie hidden and protected for many years.
8.How does the poet describe the final death of the tree?
Answer: After the roots are exposed, the tree is scorched and choked in the sun and air. It becomes brown and withered, and finally dies.
9.Why does the poet use the word “No” at the beginning of the third stanza?
Answer: The poet uses “No” to stress that merely cutting or chopping a tree is not enough to kill it – the roots must be removed completely.
10.What is the central idea of the poem “On Killing a Tree”?
Answer: The poem shows the strength and resilience of trees. It teaches that destroying a tree is not easy because it takes deep roots, patience, and years of life to grow – just as nature’s creations cannot be easily destroyed.
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